[IC] Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

[Rogue Sloth]

Complying with his father’s demand, Caspian filled him and Jacob in on everything that had happened since the night he’d been taken from the capital. He told them about how he’d been ambushed by Ethan; how the rebels had transported him to Regis’s basement, where he’d been held captive for a few days; how the rebel leader had caught him trying to escape and beaten him; how Iris had helped him escape. He also described his experiences in the districts beyond the capital: their flight through Bel Bicis and the close encounter with the bombers. He left out the detail of the dead bodies they’d found. Just thinking about them again made him taste bile, and he didn’t want to vomit when he was still recovering from dehydration.

From there, he skipped over his night at the pub with Iris to when Ethan and Thomas had found them again. He explained that the former had tried to “interrogate” him, and that he’d been shot because he’d refused to say anything. Lastly, he described how the military had intervened at the perfect time to allow Iris to free him again and help him get back to the border. When he finished speaking, he fell quiet, winded from the effort of recounting all of it. The painkiller took away enough of his pain to allow him to talk, but it didn’t completely remove his shortness of breath after telling a story.

Atlas and Jacob took a moment to absorb all of it as well. The guard couldn’t believe just how much his prince had been through and survived. By the sound of it, the girl who’d come with him, Iris, really had been on his side too. He studied Caspian quietly, suspecting that there was more going on than the prince had said. Although he hadn’t stated it outright, he knew the heir to the throne had taken an interest in her before he’d disappeared, so it couldn’t have been a coincidence that they’d returned together. He just wondered how far things had gone during the time in between his abduction and his reappearance at the edge of the city.

“Hm,” Atlas grunted. “I’ll have the soldiers examine the bodies of the deceased to see if Ethan Williams was among them. If not, there will be a warrant issued for his arrest.”

Cas nodded tiredly. “So now you now all of it,” he concluded, turning his head toward the others, who’d taken seats near the door. It felt good to get everything off his chest—or as much as he could, since there were still some secrets left—and to know that he had been missed while he’d been gone. The only reason why his father hadn’t looked for him was because he’d thought he was dead, which reminded him that he had some questions of his own.

“I was wondering,” he frowned. “Why did you think I’d been killed be the rebels?”

“Nox-Fleuret,” Jacob sighed.

“When Regis Nox-Fleuret was interrogated, he claimed to have killed you,” Atlas elaborated. “He was under the influence of Aproveset at the time, so we’d had no reason to believe that he was lying to us. In fact, I’m still not sure how he managed to lie while on the drug in the first place.” He turned toward Jacob sternly.

“I have no idea either, sire,” the guard shrugged. “I still need to ask the scientists what they think happened.”

“Wait, back up,” Cas furrowed his brows. “You have him in your custody? How? I was just with him a few days ago…”

“Most likely, we barely missed each other,” Jacob replied. “We were searching for you in the beginning, and our leads took us to Nox-Fleuret’s house in Tongsen. When we raided the property, he was the only person present. We found what I’m assuming was the cell he made to hold you along with recent bloodstains that were tested and came back as a match for yours.”

“That must have happened right after Iris and I left,” the prince mused in disbelief. He’d been so close to being rescued and had no idea.

“Must have,” Jacob agreed. “Regardless, Nox-Fleuret told us that he’d killed you, and His Majesty sentenced him to death by firing squad the next day.”

Cas’s eyes widened slightly. “He’s dead?” he breathed, stunned by the news that Iris’s father had been killed. The man who’d imprisoned him and threatened to take his life was gone. He was relieved to hear it but also felt a pang of empathy for her. Both of her parents were dead now. He didn’t want to know what that was like.

Thinking about Iris, his eyes drifted to his father again. The soldiers had arrested her because of the king’s order to apprehend anyone who’d been involved in his abduction, but he’d just explained that she wasn’t an enemy. Hoping that the monarch might revoke his decision, he attempted tentatively, “So… now that you know Iris isn’t an enemy, will you let her out of the prison? She saved my life multiple times over, and she doesn’t deserve to be locked up.”

Atlas observed him for a moment before he spoke, “You shouldn’t worry about that right now.”

“Dad, come on,” Cas insisted. “After everything I told you, can’t you see that she isn’t a criminal? She should be given a room in our home, not a five-by-five meter block of cement monitored by guards.”

“I won’t invite a member of the rebellion into the palace,” Atlas stated firmly. “But for her good deed, I’ll consider allowing her to go back to her home district alive after her questioning is concluded.”

At that, Caspian paled, “Her what?”

Jacob cleared his throat, meeting the prince’s gaze solemnly, “She’s currently undergoing an interrogation to find out what she knows about the Scourge.”

[sukikyoufu]

Matthew hadn’t expected the response had had from her, but it came out her mouth so naturally he doubted it was a lie. It made sense; the girl had fallen in love with the Prince. Helped him home, maybe that had been a part of the Princes plan to escape? He wouldn’t know until the Prince was awake and well enough to share his story, so he continued on with his interrogation, after all he felt that he had barely scratched the surface with his questions. Now with the drug in full effect it would be easy for the information to flow out, he could see the pain the girl was in but that was standard especially with those who went under the aproveset. Matthew didn’t feel guilty for this, his first few interrogations he had felt guilty once, but then it turned out the prisoners were deadly killers and he soon began to harden up. You could never underestimate someone.

“Why were you in the Capital in the first place? Resources tell me how his majesty had been kind enough to extend his home to you. Explain to me that night.” Matthew didn’t dwell on her love confession, he kept pushing further knowing that time was still key to this interrogation. As much as he said it could be in there system for a while until they got answers there was only so much the body would go through before falling into shock and shutting down, some prisoners had barely last half an hour and it could depend on their will, health and just how prepared they were to fight back.

Iris hadn't stopped crying, the pain was becoming so unbearable, she wanted it all to end. Iris wished for death to embrace her and just take every bit of pain away. Sure, she loved Cas, but there was no chance they’d ever be together. Father, now dead, both parents gone and of course she was old enough to look after herself, but there wasn’t much point with no family around no matter how dysfunctional it was. There was Maisie though, her best friend who she knew would support her, but the worry of Ethan coming back to haunt her for her betrayal sent another wave of nausea through her.

“M-Make it stop… please.” Gasping as she found it difficult to catch her breath Iris couldn’t take it, she wished for her death or for this to stop. Though she knew until she spilled every last bit of information left on the rebels the pain wouldn’t go away. “I was in the Capital to assassinate the Prince originally. I was sent by the rebels, but… I got injured, stepped in a bear trap before smashing my head against that rock. That’s when I lost my memories.”

“So, you were there to kill the Prince, but now you’ve saved him. Amnesia… well I can see the leg wound from the bear trap exists.” Matthew made a few more notes glancing at her legs which he could see the scabs and tissue scarring over from what he now believed to be a bear trap wound. Watching the girl he could see a pale shade on her and her body still shook, making a note to himself knowing that there probably wasn’t much time left. It had surprised him how long it had taken for her to beg them to make it stop, some people begged within the first few minutes and she had gone through quite a bit of time before cracking.

“Just a few more questions. I think you’re up for it.” Matthew continued on, he began to ask about all the finer details, about everything he could ignoring her tears, her cries for help as the pain continued on. Matthew kept pushing through the questions and after he had a full understanding of her events in the Capital from the moment, she entered the forest to then helping Caspain escape he paused for a few minutes letting the information sink in. The girl had explained how she was there to kill him in the Capital and even mentioned it was a suicidal task, which he had to agree on there was no way she’d get close to the Prince it was just sheer dumb luck he had found her in the forest. The amnesia to him was interesting, but it made sense why no attempts had been made in her time there. That was when the rebels had broken into the Capital to find her, Ethan was mentioned and his buddy Thomas who had played a part in his abduction.

Matthew felt like he had covered a lot of ground, there was a full recount of the story from her point of view which he felt the crown would be interested in. Especially as she had been so close to them in the palace and the rebels had made it there somehow, there had to be some blind spots with the cameras, some security that lacked. Moving onto his last subject he began to press about the rebels, about possible locations and where they could be. Feeling the excitement build up as he was so close to a perfect interrogation gathering every bit of information he could.

“Tell me Iris, about the locations used. About any last remaining member that could pose a threat.” Matthew had listed off locations they already knew about and members that had been named in hopes she could give them knew leads.

“I don’t know. Please… just make it stop. I don’t know anymore, maybe I did but I don’t remember it. Maybe they've gone outside of Tongsen, there's something hidden north there.... I think. I-I don't... know...” Iris couldn’t help but cry as she begged for it to stop, the pain was far too much to deal with. “JUST KILL ME, I’ve told you everything. Please…” The tremors hadn’t stopped and neither had the tears as she begged him to make it stop. Breathing was difficult, moving was even worse and she just wished it would go away.

“PLEASE…”

At her last pleading words her body began to shut down, the shock taking over after the ordeal. Feeling her eyelids flutter her body fell from the chair and went crashing down on the floor as she began to have a seizure, her body was crashing after the pain became too much for it to deal. The brain unable to comprehend any more as she thrashed about on the floor uncontrollably for a few minutes before her body went still, her head dropping to the side.

“Shit.” Matthew cursed as he jumped from his seat and rushed over to her, it wasn’t uncommon for someone to crash and fall unconscious, but this was the first instance of someone suffering a seizure. Sighing he had pushed too hard, he knew it, but he had just been so excited to get all the information needed. Leaning down he check to see if she was still breathing and relief washed over as she was just about alive.

“Sir, interrogation concluded, I will relay the information extracted but right now I need the antidote. Prisoner has reacted badly; they had suffered a seizure. I can confirm prisoner still breathing and alive for the moment, but it's weak what do you want me to do?”

[Rogue Sloth]

“In-Interrogation?” Cas spluttered in shock. More familiar with the military’s tactics of gathering information than he wanted to be, he cringed at the thought of Iris going through their torturous questioning. If he’d had the mobility, he would have leapt up from his bed at that moment and demanded that she be released at once. However, in his current state, the revelation merely made him dizzy, and the vital signs monitor beside him whirred with the spike in his heartrate.

He was taken aback by how quickly the soldiers had begun prodding at her about the rebellion. There was still light coming in through the window in his room, so even without looking for a clock, he knew he hadn’t been out for that long. He wished they would have waited until he’d woken up before they’d made any decisions, so he could have had a chance to speak on her behalf. “You didn’t need to send her to the interrogators,” he said, worry seeping into his voice. “I’m sure that if you’d just asked her, she would have been willing to help. The Scourge hurt her too. Also, she has amnesia, so she doesn’t remember everything…” He trailed off, his throat tightening as he imagined the interrogators questioning her about the rebels and believing she was lying when she told them she couldn’t remember much. The soldiers were ruthless when they believed a prisoner was hiding something from them.

“If that were true, she would have been helpful the first time she was questioned,” Atlas rebutted unsympathetically. “Matthew informed us that she’s already refused to talk once.”

Silently, Jacob swore as the king revealed that he had been listening to his conversation with the interrogator after all. Picking up on Caspian’s fondness for the girl, he’d wanted to keep quiet about the details of the questioning, including the fact that Iris was currently undergoing her second round with the soldiers, possibly with the use of Aproveset. What was done was done, and there was no changing it, so there was no reason to tell the prince about the gory details when it would just needlessly upset him. He would have preferred to break the news to him at a later time, when he hadn’t just woken up from a surgical operation.

Upon finding out that Iris had already been questioned more than once, Cas felt like the room was tilting. If he’d known the soldiers were going to subject her to so much right after she was sent to the penitentiary, he would have fought harder to keep them from taking her away from him. Now that he knew, he felt guilt-stricken that he’d let them arrest her so easily and hadn’t told them that she was on their side. He hoped she didn’t think he’d forgotten about her the instant he’d been offered medical treatment. His wounds had needed tending to, but he wasn’t so focused on them that he didn’t care what became of her in the capital. Far from it, he’d had an entire plan to protect her that had unraveled the instant the soldiers had confronted them outside the tower.

“She probably refused because she’s freaked out,” he reasoned, trying to come up with an excuse for Iris’s lack of cooperation that his father could accept. “Please, dad, this has to stop. I know what it looks like, but I swear she’s innocent. The other rebels manipulated her into working with them. She helped me get away from their leader and from the others after we were caught again. Doesn’t that speak more into who she is than the other stuff?”

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door, and the doctor stepped back inside the room with a cup of water in hand. His eyes fixed immediately on the prince, and he clicked his tongue. “Your Highness, please try to stay calm. Your vitals are elevated, and you’re putting your body under unnecessary stress.” He stepped over to the bed and bent forward to press a button that lifted the top half of the mattress just enough that his patient would be able to drink the water without spilling it on himself.

Atlas’s eyes narrowed as he watched his son. He found it strange how fervently Caspian was trying to defend the girl who had led him into the trap in the first place. The prince had always been prone to blindly trusting other people, and this time was most likely the same. Unwilling to believe that a rebel had miraculously changed her mind about killing him, he was certain that she had another motive for “rescuing” him from the others. She had probably only done so to convince him to trust her. She may even be after the crown, he thought, gripping the metal arm of his chair in anger. It wasn’t unreasonable to assume that the girl had an agenda to win over his heir and try to put herself in line for the succession through a romantic involvement. He glanced at the doctor.

“Is there any way to have Caspian’s brain examined?” he asked, ignoring the way the prince gawked at him in response to the coldhearted question. “He’s clearly been affected by one of his captors, and I’d like to find out if she did anything to him while he was gone.”

I doubt what happened between them was as malicious as you think, Jacob thought with a subtle roll of his eyes, though he held his tongue. The more he listened to Caspian talk about the girl, the more convinced he felt that the two had gotten closer than Atlas was apparently willing to believe. The prince wasn’t brainwashed; he was just young and smitten.

The doctor cleared his throat awkwardly, “I, err, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him cognitively, Your Majesty…”

“I don’t care what you ‘think.’ If you can have him examined, then do it to rule out the possibility,” Atlas asserted.

“What the hell?” Cas snapped, frustrated that his father was more inclined to believe there was something wrong with him rather than give Iris the benefit of the doubt. “I’m not brain damaged.”

“Sire, if I may,” the doctor fidgeted with his clipboard. “The kind of effect you’re suggesting wouldn’t show up on an MRI. If you think there’s a need for further examination, contacting a psychiatrist would be the best route to take.”

Feeling spurned in the exchanged, Cas let out an irritable scoff and turned his head away as he drank the water he’d been given. Not fifteen minutes after his father had acted like a real parent, he’d ruined the reunion by accusing him of being mentally incompetent. He supposed he should have known better than to think the king had changed. If he won’t listen to me, I’ll just have to help Iris, myself, he resolved.

“I’m fine,” he insisted, turning back to the doctor. “When can I leave? I’d prefer to recover in my own bed.” He also wanted to get away from all the people who were keeping a close eye on him, so he could pay a visit to the penitentiary in person.

“Unfortunately, we’ll need to hold you for at least twelve more hours, Your Highness,” the doctor smiled at him sympathetically. “You still need to have a couple more rounds of Accuparacin before you can be released, and they have to be spaced apart by six hour intervals. Plus, the longer you stay here, the longer we can keep you on the intravenous versions of Pansine and Amoxiran, which will hasten your overall recovery.”

Cas bit his lip. Twelve hours was too long. By the time he was able to leave, who knew what the soldiers would have done with Iris? He needed a more immediate solution. “Okay, fine,” he relented, glancing back at his father and Jacob. The guard was loyal to the king, but he wondered if he could convince him not to do anything extreme to Iris until he had a chance to fight for her release from prison.

“Schedule the psychiatrist,” Atlas ordered. “I’d like the appointment to happen before he comes back to the palace.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the doctor bowed and stepped out of the room to fulfill the request.

In the same moment, Jacob lifted a hand to his ear as he received word from Matthew about what had happened during the interrogation. “Fuck,” he hissed under his breath. It seemed like things were not going well at the penitentiary. Rising from his seat, he bowed curtly to Atlas. “I need to take care of this,” he informed the king with a gesture to his earpiece.

The monarch waved him off, and he stepped into the hallway, not wanting to have this conversation with Caspian in earshot. “Give her the goddamn antidote now,” he commanded the soldier sternly. “What the fuck happened? Is she epileptic? Keep an eye on her, and if she doesn’t get better fast, have someone bring her by air to the hospital for emergency treatment.”

[sukikyoufu]

Matthew had already ordered a few of the soldiers around as they scrambled to sort things, his mind racing on how he might have just gone too far this time. The antidote was rushed in by another person dressed in a lab coat and he wasted no time in injecting the substance into the girl, but it gave no reaction at first and she was still on the ground unconscious. “Shitting hell, this has never happened before. How was I to know?” Grumbling to himself as he kept an eye on her, eyes watching the slow rise and fall of her chest as he made sure she was still breathing.

Tuning into the earpiece once more as Jacob had returned to the live line he sighed heavily as he began to talk, “I don’t know if she’s epileptic? We don’t exactly keep medical records of our prisoners now do we?” Glancing up as the soldiers moved inside ready to move her back to the cell, pausing as a thought crossed his mind, “Why not move her to isolation, they are monitored heavily so they can keep an eye if anything changes.” He held up his hands not letting the soldiers move her just yet, he wanted to be sure he wouldn’t cause more damage before having her moved. “Wait hang on, she has a death sentence!? What does it matter if she doesn’t get better? Why would we waste our resources air lifting her to the hospital for treatment if she is to be killed anyway?”

To him it didn’t make sense as to why Jacob was interested in keeping her alive, they had gathered all the information needed anyway. “The antidote has been administered, no changes yet.” Tutting to himself as he looked between the soldiers to the girl in a heap on the floor, no movement had happened and he sighed touching her forehead feeling it was quite warm but that could be due to how the body reacted to the drug. “I’ll just put her in isolation, they can monitor her there. I don’t see the need to have her brought into the hospital.”

Nodding to the soldiers who moved into the cell further picking up the dead weight body in their arms and moving her to a different room where they could monitor her in isolation. The soldiers weren’t too careful as the hauled her off, no response and no sign of life stirring from the move.

“The interrogation went well overall though.” Matthew sighed as he sat himself back on the chair watching as the soldiers left carting off the girl. “Apparently, she was sent here originally to assassinate the Prince, admitted it was a suicide mission essentially. It was just sheer dumb luck the Prince had found her, and she had lost her memories.” Relaying the information to Jacob over the comms, he began to explain the information they had found from the talks, he left out the gory details of how she had been under the Aproveset knowing that he didn’t need to know. All he needed to know was what information had been gained.

“Apparently north of Tonseng may be a place that the rebels might hide, that’s one of the newest pieces of information relevant to the rebels. Apparently, she doesn’t remember much else, still claims amnesia so I think that was the truth. I think we’ve exhausted all pieces of information from her, unless you want us to try again when she comes round in case you think she is hiding anything further.” Matthew spoke calmly over the comms, they would push more when she was ready, but he doubted there was much more information to give until all of her memories had returned.

“Sir, we’ve placed her in an isolation room. The girl is warm, still breathing but it’s faint. She was like dead weight in our arms, I doubt she will come round soon…” If at all the soldier wanted to add, but he didn’t mention it. The soldier had only joined into the waves of communications to inform them they had transported her to the isolation room.

[Rogue Sloth]

“Is this really necessary?” Cas asked when he and his father had been left alone. “Look at me, dad. Do I seem like I’m not thinking straight to you? I might have been a little banged up, but I’m not fucking brain damaged.” He didn’t want to have a visit with a psychiatrist, especially when the king was calling for one because he thought he was mentally unstable. It was ridiculous. He didn’t deserve to be accused of having something wrong with his head just because he disagreed with his father’s decision to have Iris interrogated. They’d had arguments before, but this was the first time the monarch had ever gone so far as to say that he needed psychological intervention. It hurt him that Atlas’s first flinch after they’d been separated for a week was to distrust him to this degree.

“Watch your language, Caspian,” his father reprimanded strictly. “You’re speaking like a commoner.”

“Seriously? That’s what you’re concerned about?” Cas wanted to throw up his hands in exasperation. “I almost died at least three times while I was outside the capital, but excuse me for swearing. I wouldn’t want to ruin the family name with my foul mouth.”

Atlas stared at him in shock before a scowl contorted his face. “What’s gotten into you? This is no way for you to speak to your father and your king.”

Cas snorted belligerently. “You’re really pulling the ‘king’ card on me? And here I thought you were actually starting to care.” In the back of his mind, he knew he was letting his emotions get the best of him, but the words were already flowing, and he didn’t have the self-restraint to stop them. All at once, every grudge and every pain he had toward his father welled up inside of him, and their only escape was through his lips. Trembling slightly in anger, he crushed the empty paper cup in his hand and held the king’s gaze as he gave voice to the internal wounds he’d buried for so long,

“I should have known better than to expect a warm welcome from you. You’ve never taken me seriously, and you’ve never valued my input on anything. All I am to you is a tool to be molded into the image you want, so you’ll have a perfect heir to take over all your little projects after you die. That’s why you had me in the first place, right? You didn’t want a son, you wanted a descendant to keep the line for the crown intact.”

As his voice raised, the pain in his chest worsened, but he didn’t let it stop him from going on, “Well, guess what. I don’t want it. I hate living like this! Having to walk on eggshells every time I’m around you, constantly worried that I’m not living up to your ridiculously high standards. Getting abducted by the rebellion was the most horrible thing I’ve ever been through, but at least when I was in the other districts, I had the chance to be the kind of man that I want to be, and I was treated like I have value as an individual rather than just a figurehead for your future political ventures. That, to me, was priceless, and I almost regret coming back here if it means I’m just going to have to go back to being your carbon-copy puppet.

“You can be mad at me for having my own independent thoughts, but accusing me of being fucking brain damaged because I disagreed with you? That’s not the way a father should treat his son.” Tears stung the corners of his eyes as his frustration boiled over, and he bit his lip to fight back against the urge to let them go. He’d never spoken out against his father so harshly before, but he was fed up with rolling over every time Atlas told him he was wrong. If being on the run from the rebellion had taught him anything, it was that he was more capable than he’d realized, and he wasn’t going to let the king steamroll over him anymore.

For a moment, Atlas was silent, seeming frozen in shock that his son had lashed out at him. A series of emotions danced across him features, first surprise, then sadness, then finally pure rage. He grasped his cane firmly and rose from his chair. “I don’t know what those anarchists did to you, but I’m glad that you’re seeing a psychiatrist now, because it needs to be undone,” he said coldly.

Cas ground his teeth. He wanted to scream that no one had done anything to him—that this was who he’d always been and that he wished his father would lift him up rather than continue to tear him down. However, he could tell that nothing he said would get through to the king. He was also too angry to keep trying, so instead, he snarled three scathing words: “Go to hell.”

Atlas casted him one final glare and marched out of the room, leaving the prince alone once more.

As soon as he was gone, Cas deflated. The fury that had coursed through him seconds before was replaced with dejection, and he threw the crumpled cup at the closed door. He knew that acting out hadn’t solved anything, but he couldn’t help himself. Slumping on the bed with his gaze fixed dully on the ceiling, he wished he could see Iris again. Right now, it felt like she was the only person in Aspiria who genuinely cared about him.

Meanwhile, in the corridor, Jacob raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. He’d wanted to avoid sending Iris to isolation, but the incompetent soldiers at the prison were making that damn near impossible. “I said hospital,” he barked into the receiver. “It doesn’t matter if she’s on death row, that order comes from above me. Fucking hell.” The last part was added after he stopped his transmission. He was doing his best to keep the girl alive, since Prince Caspian had made it clear that he didn’t want her to die, but if the guards weren’t willing to follow his orders, there was nothing he could do short of making a trip to the penitentiary in person.

I might have to do just that, he groaned and then tensed at the sound of raised voices on the other side of the wall he was standing against. Glancing over his shoulder, he could hear Caspian yelling at Atlas, but he didn’t want to get involved in any more conflicts that day, so he stayed out of it. He made a mental note to relay the information about the northern area of Tongsen to the military and spoke over his com device again: “If she’s barely breathing, call a damn ambulance!” He ran his hand over his face. “You know what? Fuck it. I’m coming down there myself.”

Almost as if on cue, the door to Caspian’s room opened, and Atlas stepped into the hall. “Bring me back to the palace,” the king growled. “I’m done with this visit.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Jacob nodded, leading the way back to the elevator. After he dropped Atlas off at the palace, he planned to go to the prison to find out what had happened to their prisoner since he’d left.

[sukikyoufu]

Matthew felt himself grind his teeth as Jacob barked the orders, to him it was ridiculous sending the girl to the hospital. No, he wouldn’t bow do to it, she was a member of the Scourge. The daughter of the leader of the rebellion and they wanted to waste their resources on keeping her alive? Just so they could kill her later. To him it made no sense, even as Jacob claimed the order came above him, Matthew was certain if he had gone to the King on this matter he would say to leave her to die, he was certain this kind of order didn’t come from him because there was no more useful information to gain from her.

Clenching his fists now he scoffed as he headed to the isolation room the guard had placed her in, he would watch because she could wake up. The girls condition could improve before he even arrived meaning they could keep her in the cells and not the hospital, plus they shouldn’t be sending in guards to keep an eye on a prisoner in the hospital of all places. Plus, it was easier to escape, they had already seen how easily she had slipped through their clutches, here and out in the districts and he found it only angered him further. “Stupid, idiot.”

After watching the girl’s body slumped on the floor not showing signs of waking he turned on his heel, slamming the door shut behind him he waved down one of the soldiers to continue the tedious task instead, “Oi, try to wake up that silly girl. Throw water on her if you have to, I don’t care. Have her awake and looking somewhat fine so we don’t have to send her to that god damn hospital.”

“Sir, but orders. We should take her now?”

“I don’t care about those orders; these are ones higher up than those. Trust me on this. His majesty the King would not want her wasting our resources when he plans to kill her anyway. You don’t think he’d allow the daughter of rebellion leader to live? Well? DO YOU?”

“N-No sir.” The Soldier stood to attention before scurrying off, there had been a few occasions to when he had seen Matthew act like this. For someone who could calmly question anyone for hours he had a lot of pent up anger inside, the Soldier didn’t really want to be on the receiving end of that. Especially when he was relatively new to this job, promoted as they needed more guards in the prison to cope with the influx of rebellion members in the cells.

Grumbling away to himself as he moved to one of the recreation rooms in the prison where he could start to write up his report, a part of him was tempted to contact the King directly but he knew that would not go down well. Shaking his head, he began to scribble down the events of the interrogation whilst occasionally looking at one of the monitors in the break room which showed all prisoners in all the rooms. Letting out a hefty sigh he could see the soldier walk inside the girls room and he could only hope he would be able to wake her, he was probably in a little bit of trouble with Jacob for disobeying his original order but he knew King Atlas would back his corner on the matter if it went anywhere.

Coughing to himself the Soldier had grabbed a plastic bottle of water, not even daring to bring in a glass after what he had heard happened earlier in the day. Entering the room, he looked around still a bit cautious in case she would spring up and attack him, it was stupid really because she had just stayed put on the floor the whole time. “Hey… erm. Wake up!” Calling out as if the noise would startle her. Frowning as nothing happened, he kneeled down and began to shake her body gentle, trying to jostle her awake which did earn a whimper meaning she was still somewhat responsive. Hopeful he could potentially wake her up he splashed her face with water. “Hey. WAKE UP.” Shaking a little harder as the dead weight in his hands began to move ever so slightly, the breathing was still slow like she was having trouble.

Frowning he had remembered on first aid how sometimes when traumatic things happen fluid could block the airwaves, had she been put in the recovery position? Training had told him how if they were still breathing, even if slow to put them in the recovery position because it would help drain any fluid blocking the airways. Nodding to himself he placed her in the recovery position on the floor rubbing the back and gave it a few minutes because he would try to wake her again.

[Rogue Sloth]

With a fresh list of responsibilities that needed his attention, Jacob boarded the hovercraft with Atlas and returned to the palace. His king’s wellbeing came first and foremost, so he walked with the monarch into the building, listening quietly as the other man grumbled about Caspian’s newfound rebellious streak. Having been a watchful observer of the Maydestone family for years, he’d been surprised to find out that the prince had spoken out against his father, but he couldn’t say that he’d never expected it to happen. The prince and the king were two very different men with very different agendas and priorities. It had only been a matter of time before the heir to the crown snapped at his controlling parent. Privately, he couldn’t agree with Atlas’s anger about the situation, since he felt like Caspian needed the space to make his own decisions and build confidence in order to become a great leader. Outwardly, he murmured his condolences and assured the king that the boy would come around.

Once Atlas had been returned to his bedroom to sleep, Jacob left the palace again to pay the penitentiary an overdue visit. He was still seething that Matthew had directly disobeyed his orders, but he couldn’t tell the king about his insubordination. After the heated exchange that had just happened between the two royals, he suspected that it would be a bad idea to mention Iris’s name until the monarch had a chance to cool down. He wouldn’t have put it past Atlas to have her executed just to get revenge against his son for being disrespectful. Not wanting to rope her into their fighting, he would just have to handle the situation by himself.

So, he took a car alone and arrived alone, not bothering to greet any of the guards he walked past on his way into the penitentiary. Still in a sour mood, he intended to do what he’d come to do and leave without interacting with anyone else. With one hand resting on his holster to warn off anyone who might think he was in talkative spirits, he strode purposefully down the long, gray corridors until he reached the wing where the isolation rooms were kept. It was a part of the prison that he’d never liked. Even more so than the regular cells, the isolation rooms were dark and disorienting. They were completely closed in with cement on the floors, walls, and ceilings and nothing but one dim little light bulb to illuminate the space. Even the doors were foreboding. Instead of open bars, they were made of solid steel with just one thick, tempered glass window in the top that the guards could use to keep an eye on the prisoners inside. The entire area gave off asylum vibes, which was why the security guard had always despised it.

Walking through the wing, he noticed right away which room Iris had been transferred to. It was the only one in the hall that had an open door. He stepped up to the opening and peered inside, immediately irked by the sight of a soldier kneeling on the ground, trying to rouse the unconscious girl. Apparently he’d been right in his guess that she needed medical attention. The idiots at the prison were going to kill her if they kept doing things their way, so he was glad that he’d made the proactive decision to see to her condition, himself.

“What the hell is this?” he snapped, entering the room and dropping to his knees on the girl’s other side. “If she needs to be three-quarters prone, she needs to go to the hospital.” Muttering irritably to himself, he shooed the guard away and pulled out his phone to call an ambulance, hoping the soldiers hadn’t been so incompetent that he would lose her before she could get proper help.

--

At the hospital, Cas only had a few minutes to himself before a nurse entered the room. Glancing down at her, he saw that she looked nervous, and her eyes flicked over the room as if she was searching for something. “Is everything okay, Your Highness?” she asked tentatively. “I thought I heard shouting.”

“Everything’s fine,” he lied in a clipped tone, not wanting to talk or think about what had just happened anymore.

The nurse shrank slightly but approached his bed anyway, looking over his vital signs monitor and frowning concernedly. She could tell that his blood pressure had been elevated, giving away his recent distress. “You shouldn’t raise your voice, Your Highness,” she advised him meekly. “Your broken ribs are still mending, so any kind of pressure on your lungs could delay the healing process.”

“If you don’t want me to yell, then don’t let my dad back into this room again,” he grumbled.

At that, the nurse fell quiet, seeming unsure what to say, and he sighed. As much as he would have liked to keep his father out of his room, he knew no one in the building had the authority to tell the king what to do. “Forget it,” he shook his head dismissively.

She nodded awkwardly. “Well… is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No,” he replied. “You can go. I just want to sleep some more.”

“As you wish,” she bowed formally and slipped out of the room, dimming the lights on her way out to let him nap.

Once she was gone, Cas let out his breath in a long exhale and closed his eyes, trying to simmer down enough to get some sleep. Hopefully if he rested enough, he could hasten his recovery and get out of the hospital. He would have to stay put for twelve hours because of the injections, but he didn’t want to wait around any longer than that. He had to find Iris and make sure his father didn’t execute her or exile her back to the other districts.

[sukikyoufu]

“Sir, I was just following orders. I assumed this would help seeing as we weren’t permitted to take her to the hospital.” The Soldier grimaced as he stepped away, he had only tried to help somewhat, seeing as he wasn’t allowed to call an ambulance without clearance on a prisoner. Matthew wouldn’t allow it and he was higher up than him. “It was better than nothing, her breathing has improved. Look.” It was not amazing of course, it still looked like she was struggling, but she was far more responsive now than she had been minutes ago with more oxygen being taken in. “I was told to wake her up. I was just following orders. I haven’t been here long…” It was clear the Soldier was flustered over the situation but had at least tried to help rather than let things get worse.

Incoherent raspy words fell from her lips, heavy coughs followed as she began to splutter liquid falling from her lips to the floor as she gasped for breath. Iris was highly disorientated already, barely registering where was as her eyes fluttered open slightly before closing again. More coughs followed and the last of the fluid that had blocked her airway was brought up and it was clear that the seizure she had suffered from had brought vomit with it. Though still there was nothing left for her to bring up what little water was left, accompanied with spots of blood from her stomach lining.

The Soldier sighed with relief, of course no one wanted to see that, but he knew he had done the right thing. The position had aided in clearing her airway, though he was used to seeing some of the interrogation techniques on the few rebels that had passed the walls in the past week he hadn’t seen a reaction like this. Most prisons had just cried, fallen silent, some had vomited due to the overwhelming stress, thankfully he wasn’t squeamish with what he had seen lately.

Flitting in and out of consciousness Iris could still the pain of the drug, she didn’t know if they had given her the antidote because she couldn’t remember much of what had happened. As she tried to focus herself everything was spinning and as she opened her eyes trying to understand where she was it sent a panic through her. The room was dark, and she didn’t think it was night-time, but then who knew? Everything was strange to her and the exhaustion she felt kept calling out to her. Luring her back to the darkness where everything was okay and it felt like a warm embrace, death wouldn’t be so bad right?

Shifting her weight, she tried to force herself to sit up, her head swimming and she had such a dry mouth that everything felt ten times harder than it should be. Pale arms trembled at her own weight of pushing herself up and the movement caused her to whimper, feeling the pain as if that stupid drug was still in her system. “…K-ill… M...” Trying to speak she couldn’t find her voice, from the previous neck injury and the cries, the screams of begging them to stop had only worsened it. It took her all this time to realise that people where there, partially because of the darkness and the other because she was clearly dazed, a distant look in her eye.

“She looks fine now Jacob; I don’t see the need for her to be transferred out of here.” A calm voice had come from the door, Matthew standing there with his arms folded. Matthew had seen Jacob enter via the cameras so decided it was best to see if he actually was going to take her to the hospital.

[Rogue Sloth]

Holding out a hand to keep the guard at bay, Jacob fixed his gaze on Iris as he waited for his call to the hospital to go through. Not knowing what state she had been in before he’d arrived, he assumed the soldier was either right that she was getting better or just trying to cover his own ass by lying. Either way, the condition she was in now was unacceptable. Just because the standard was to place all rebels on death row upon their arrest didn’t mean orders couldn’t be tweaked and changed. The workers at the penitentiary should have obeyed his new instructions without question, and he was still vexed that they had defied him.

“Your boss should have sent someone with more experience,” he said curtly when the guard floundered to give an explanation for his actions. Though harsh, the statement wasn’t meant to be an insult. It was true. Matthew knew damn well that the isolation wing required guards more skill to manage it. Sending a novice was just another slap in the face, showing how little regard the interrogator had for his authority. He scowled at the girl’s unmoving body, thoroughly pissed that the penitentiary workers were so incompetent that he had to come down and do everything himself.

Capital’s first response. What is your emergency? A voice finally came through the phone.

“I have a prisoner here at the penitentiary who needs immediate medical attention,” he explained concisely. “Send an ambulance right away. My clearance code is JXC7002.”

Let’s see… Mr. Curry? I’ll send a team to retrieve the prisoner now. Bring him out to the landing pad.

“Thank you,” he hung up the phone and slid it into his back pocket, not bothering to correct technician’s assumption that the prisoner was male. The paramedics would find out soon enough anyway. Keeping one hand on Iris’s side, he frowned as she tried to sit up and speak. It seemed like she’d taken poorly to the interrogation under Aproveset and was still shaken up from the torture. Currently unsure if the foul treatment was warranted, he hoped the medical team would be able to provide her quick relief when they arrived. If she was really innocent like Caspian believed her to be, then he didn’t want to be held responsible for abusing her during questionings.

At the sound of Matthew’s voice, he looked up and narrowed his eyes. “Fine, my ass,” he growled, rising to his full height from the ground and crossing his arms. “I don’t know where you get off trying to take over responsibility for this prisoner, but you’re out of line, Matt. Even if I hadn’t given you the order to send her to the hospital, you report to Warden Walker. Somehow, I have a feeling even the warden doesn’t know about this little power trip of yours though.” He cocked his chin at the mention of the other man’s name. Well aware of the chain of command in the prison, he knew Walker would have the authority to override Matthew’s inane decision to throw Iris in isolation.

“It doesn’t matter now,” he went on, standing over her defensively. “I already called the hospital, and an ambulance is on the way. You might as well back off and let me take her up to the landing pad to be transported before I get your superior involved. It would be in your best interest not to mar your record with this tomfuckery while I’m still willing to pretend like it never happened.”

[sukikyoufu]

Iris could barely register what was going on, some many voices surrounded her, and she didn’t know what was real or if this was some sort of mind trick. The effort of sitting upright had gotten to her, before she could say anything of warn anyone her body slumped back down in a heap. Trembling from a mixture of fear, cold and shock from what she had gone through. It was better that way, Iris let the darkness take over in hopes the pain would stop. To her the antidote had to be a lie, she didn’t believe for one second, she’d been given it before she fell back down to the floor.

“Guys, I don’t really think you should be arguing right now.” The Soldier grimaced as he looked between Matthew and Jacob, sure Matthew had claimed she was alright but they clearly had different opinions on what that meant. There was nothing wrong with that, but right now the girl needed some sort of help that the medical team should be able to offer over here with members only being basic first aid trained.

“Trust me when I say I don’t think his Majesty the King approves of this.” Matthew countered back frowning, even though he had disobeyed an order from someone higher up he felt he had good reason too. “Shall I contact him right away about this situation? Have him clear it up?” Shaking his head, he threw his hands up in the air sighing, “This will be your funeral, he won’t be happy over this and you know that to be true. There is no way his majesty would have signed off wasting resource to a death row patient.”

“Does it really matter right now?” The Soldier shook his head checking the time, “They are probably approaching by now. I think it’s time you let her go Matt.” Looking over at the interrogator who had taken a step back to allow Jacob access knowing that this wouldn’t be reported. It couldn’t not without alerting an opinion that would back him up on what he truly felt.

“Fine, whatever. Let’s not forget this girl kidnapped the Prince in the first place, was here to kill him and somehow broke him out of the rebel clutches on multiple occasions? I think not.” Matthew didn’t buy it for a second, but then he was still salty over Regis’ interrogation and how he continued to lie though the effects of the drug. Whatever I guess It’s your responsibility. Anything she does is on your hands Jacob so don’t forget that.” Stating his last comment before he walked off in a clear mood.

Iris was still breathing; nothing had changed there. The ghostly pale skin of hers had begun to heat up again showing that there was an imbalance in her body. Drifting in and out of consciousness once more she could have sworn, she heard raised voices, but then in the brief periods of darkness she thought she heard her fathers voice. It was a strange sensation overall and she wished she could just say to someone she was fine, to leave her alone because she didn’t need anything. Let me just die than keep me here like some animal…

[Rogue Sloth]

Jacob may have been bluffing, but it was only a partial lie. He stood his ground, glowering at Matthew as the interrogator tried to threaten him by calling the king. While he was well aware that at the current moment, Atlas might respond to the situation impulsively, he also knew that the king didn’t want to completely ruin his relationship with his son. He and Caspian had fought at the hospital, but there was still hope for reconciliation. If the monarch allowed the woman who’d saved the prince to die in an isolation room, however, it would be much harder for him to regain Caspian’s trust and respect. Right now, Atlas needed time to calm down, so he could handle the prisoner rationally without doing anything he may later regret.

“His Majesty is resting right now. My orders came from the prince,” he told the interrogator calmly, refusing to let the other man get under his skin with his verbal prodding. His source was the next best thing anyway. Even if Matthew held Atlas’s word higher than Caspian’s, he couldn’t refute a command that had been passed down from the second highest ranking royal in Aspiria. To try would have been treasonous. As long as the king was sleeping, there was no one else around to give any orders that contradicted the prince’s wishes, so he had every right to take Iris to the hospital for treatment. There was nothing the soldiers could do to stop him, no matter how much they wanted to let her die in the penitentiary.

Fortunately, with some encouragement from his subordinate, Matthew finally backed down without forcing the situation to escalate. Jacob brushed off his last warning and crouched down to gather the girl’s limp body in his arms. For now, he trusted Prince Caspian’s assessment of her and wasn’t worried about being responsible for anything she might do after she recovered. Whether or not his judgment was wise remained to be seen, but unlike King Atlas, he didn’t believe the heir to the crown was a fool who trusted everyone without reason. There was something about Iris that was worthy of being given the benefit of the doubt—at least, this time.

Lifting her off the ground as if she hardly weighed anything at all, the guard carried her out of the isolation room and up to the prison’s flat roof, where he found that the ambulance was already stationed and waiting. As soon as the paramedics saw him approach, they jogged out of the vehicle, bringing a stretcher on which he could lay her down. As he had with Caspian, he accompanied them back into the hovercar, deciding after the soldiers’ despicable conduct that he couldn’t leave her alone with people who may have a vendetta against her for kidnapping their prince.

“What happened to her?” one of the paramedics asked him as they examined her for physical injuries. “Most of the calls we get from this place are because of fights, but I don’t see any injuries.”

“I was told she had a seizure,” Jacob answered with a shrug. “She hasn’t fully woken up since then.”

“I see,” the paramedic frowned and went back to work.

Holding onto the side railing, Jacob sighed and stared out the window to watch the ground disappear as the ambulance rose into the air. Between Caspian and Iris, he had a feeling he was going to be spending the rest of his evening at the hospital. I’m gonna need a stiff drink after all the bullshit that’s gone down today…

[sukikyoufu]

“She loves him allegedly. The Prince.” Matthew stated calmly to Jacob, it was something he felt quite important that he had gained from the interrogation. Though he watched as Jacob picked up the girl who had kept flitting in and out of consciousness, no sense of her words when she tried to speak. A part of him wondered if the seizure has been that severe it had caused damage to the brain. What do I care anyway? Orders are orders, I guess. Biting his tongue as he moved from isolation room, she was Jacobs responsibility now anyway, so he won’t get in any trouble with her. Matthew already thought this was more trouble than it was worth. Both him and the other soldier had left to go about whatever dailies they had left because there was still sunlight to burn.

Iris didn’t wake again, no stirring, nothing and she was dead weight in Jacobs arms as he had taken her to the ambulance for treatment. Even whilst she was being examined, she didn’t wake up. From everything that had happened up until now it was high time, she got some decent rest.

Hours passed, the day had gone and most of the morning bringing the next day with it. It was the early hours of the morning when Iris finally woke with the low sun peeking into her room, eyes fluttering open and in an instant she panicked. Unable to contain a strangled sounding scream as she sat up way too quickly on the bed eyes darting around the room in a panic, her mind still thinking she was being interrogated from yesterday. “W-Where… am I?”

Though she knew very well where she was, the clean walls and chemical smelling rooms she had been in one of them before. It was the hospital she was at and she felt her body tremble at the thought because she didn’t know why she was here. Unless Cas had fought her corner? No. Well she knew he would, but she was certain his father wouldn’t have it. Glancing down to her arms she would see different tubes all inserted into her skin and her heart began to race, the machine beeping fervently as she couldn’t help but panic as she hadn’t fully recalled the events. The last thing she remembered was something about a drug, something about an antidote.

Is this is then? Is this the antidote?
Groaning to herself as her head began to spin from over exertion she attempted to get out of bed, her legs still shaky and just as she was about to fall from not being able to hold herself she felt arms wrap around her catching her fall.

“Woah there, I don’t know where you think you’re going.” One of the doctors tutted before pushing her back up on the bed as he started to check over the vitals. “It’s not good you overexerting yourself like that. You need to rest.”

“I’m fine.” Iris managed to choke out rather stubbornly, her hand itched to pull everything out. To use this opportunity to run because her flight instinct was kicking in. This would be the perfect opportunity to escape, Cas would understand especially if he knew what had happened. Though he won’t know, will he? They won’t tell him, just like they didn’t tell him about the districts.

“Well I big to differ on that fine part, it’s hard to understand what happened fully. We don’t have a medical history for you. Do you know if any conditions your parents may have?” The Doctor spoke as he jotted somethings on the clipboard, noting how she still seemed disoriented which he could understand.

Without even noticing at first tears had fallen from her eyes as everything was beginning to set in. Family medical history? What family? Thinking bitterly to herself as she laid back on the bed avoiding the doctors gaze. “What does it matter. I’ll be dead soon.”

[Rogue Sloth]

For the rest of the day and the next night, Caspian mostly slept. Apparently a side effect of one of the medications the doctor had placed him on was that it made him incredibly drowsy. He napped for a few hours at a time, waking up intermittently either on his own or because a nurse had stopped by to check on him. Each time, he felt a small stab of disappointment that he hadn’t had anymore visitors. As his anger had worn off, the strong emotions that had fueled him to lash out at his father had been replaced with regret for doing so. He wished he hadn’t said some of the things that had tumbled out of his mouth in unfiltered rage.

Although he didn’t regret finally standing up to the king and telling him about all the hurt that had been brewing inside of him since he was a child, he felt like a complete dick for accusing Atlas of not loving him as a son and for telling him to go to hell. If the monarch really did love him, he’d probably been deeply wounded by those allegations, especially since he’d made the trip from their home to the hospital just to see him when he woke up. It was no wonder he hadn’t come back to see him again since then. Cas couldn’t blame him for still being upset though, selfishly, he wished his father would return so they could have a more civil conversation about it. He wanted to apologize for blowing up and try to reconcile so the fight wouldn’t scar their relationship.

That’s assuming he’s willing to make amends for his part though, he thought, staring dully up at the ceiling. He’d woken up from his most recent nap a few minutes ago, and all he could think about was what to do in regard to his father. Being the good person that he was, he felt remorse for the way he’d spoken out against the king and was tempted to go crawling back to Atlas and beg for his forgiveness. However, this was also a turning point for them. If his father wasn’t willing to apologize for everything he’d done to him, then there would be nowhere for them to go from here. Atlas hadn’t been the only one who’d been slighted in that discussion, after all. He needed to hear that the monarch regretted accusing him of being mentally incompetent or else it would just be yet another demoralizing encounter added to his growing collection.

No matter what, the hypothetical talk was nothing more than his imagination as long as his father wasn’t willing to come back and visit him again. He wondered if he should just go back to sleep instead of keep ruminating on it, but before he could, someone knocked on his door and stepped inside. He turned his head and immediately blanched at the sight of the doctor and Jacob—he’d noticed a few hours ago that the guard was loitering around the hospital. If they had just appeared to check on him, he would have been happy to have company, but he knew what this was about.

The last time the pair had arrived together, it was because the doctor had stopped in to give him his next round of Accuparacin. He’d reviewed his vital signs and opened the front of his hospital gown to examine his chest and then revealed an enormous needle that had been almost as terrifying as Ethan’s gun to the prince who had a phobia of medical equipment. The doctor had noticed the way the color drained from his face at the sight and had Jacob stand in the room for moral support while he injected the painful medication directly into the swollen tissue around his broken ribs and wrist. Now, another six hours must have passed, and he was due for the last series of injections.

“Good morning, Your Highness,” the doctor greeted him politely, taking a seat in a wheeled chair and rolling it over to the side of his bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Better every time I wake up,” Cas replied, unable to help but visually search the man for his instrument of torture as he spoke.

The doctor noticed his wandering eyes and smiled at him warmly. He had a savvy bedside manner, the prince had to give him that. “I brought Mr. Curry with me,” he point out obviously. “Perhaps you can tell him how you’re feeling in more detail while I take a look at your ribs.”

Cas knew that was code for ‘look away before you see the fat needle.’ Heartbeat quickening with anxiousness, he turned his head toward Jacob, who’d come round to stand on his other side. Instead of talking about himself, though, he eyed the guard curiously as he felt the doctor unbuttoning the top of his hospital gown. “Have you gotten any sleep?” he asked. “Or were you just waiting around here for me all night?”

“Yes to both,” Jacob replied, watching the procedure with quiet interest. Unlike Caspian, he wasn’t squeamish in the slightest and found the treatment fascinating. Aspiria’s medicines were the best in their part of the world, and he enjoyed learning about them. “I stayed here for the night, but I found some time to rest.”

“Is my dad okay with you being here with me?” Cas asked a little bitterly.

“He’s been resting since the yesterday, so I haven’t asked,” Jacob shrugged. “I’m not only here for you though.”

“What do you mean—” Cas started and then inhaled sharply.

“That was just the alcohol swab,” the doctor said calmly. “It’s a good sign that you can breathe in so deeply though.”

The prince swallowed hard and nodded, bracing himself for the next part. Both he and Jacob stopped talking, since they knew he wouldn’t be able to hold a coherent conversation while the injection took place. Cas’s mind went blank, and he closed his eyes, then grimaced as he felt the needle pierce his chest. The process was agonizingly slow, and even though it wasn’t a very deep shot, the skin and muscles in the area were so tender that it felt like the doctor was burying the needle all the way into the middle of his body. “Fuck,” he hissed, curling his good hand into a fist as the Accuparacin was released. The medicine burned and stung at the same time, and he fought the urge to writhe against the pain, knowing that he’d just make his bruising worse if he squirmed.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” the doctor apologized sympathetically as he removed the needle. “I started with the most sensitive area this time, so the rest shouldn’t be as painful.”

“Thanks…” Cas murmured.

After two more injections, one in his other fractured rib and one in his wrist, the doctor announced that the worst was over and that he would send someone in with breakfast for him to eat while his discharge was arranged. Cas thanked him once more and waited until he was gone before he turned back to Jacob. “So you said you’re here for someone else?” he asked, curious who the taciturn guard had stayed to see if not him. A sly smile crossed his lips as he added teasingly, “Is it that blonde nurse? She looks like she’s close to your age.”

Jacob rolled his eyes. “You say that like I’m an old man.”

“You act like an old man sometimes,” Cas said cheekily.

Ignoring the remark, the guard replied, “I’m here because there was an… incident at the penitentiary that resulted in a prisoner being sent to the hospital for treatment. It’s nothing that you need to be concerned about.” Knowing how fond the prince was of Iris and finding out that she was supposedly in love with him, he felt like it was best not to give Caspian any specifics. He had no idea how he would react if he found out the rebel girl was in a room just two floors below him. “In fact, I should go and check on that prisoner now,” he added, bowing to the prince as he attempted to dodge any further questions.

“Oh, okay,” Cas frowned. Assuming it was just another fight between inmates, he didn’t interrogate the guard any further. “You’ll be giving me a lift back home later though, right?”

“Of course, Your Highness,” Jacob assured him. With nothing left to say, he slipped out of the room and made his way to the stairs, heading down two flights and striding along the corridor that would take him back to Iris. When he reached the right door, he lifted his hand and knocked twice, waiting in the hall just in case she was up and about by now. Not spending much time around women in general, he erred on the side of caution when it came to matters of decency.

[sukikyoufu]

“Well right now our focus is to get you better, is there anything that could help us in understanding?” The Doctor continued on not even phased by her morbid words about death, whether or not that was the case it was his job to keep her alive so he would do just that. Eyes fell onto her neck where marks had covered it, red patches, swelling and quite a bit of bruising. It was something they had wanted to treat but wouldn’t dare until she was awake so they could ask about it. “What happened to your neck?”

“It doesn’t matter, I’m fine. It doesn’t even hurt.” Iris mumbled as she looked away from the doctor not really wanting to talk with him, she was fed up of talking. Of people asking questions and right now she just wanted things to calm down.

“Oh, doesn’t hurt. No of course not.” The Doctor stated as he took a few steps over to where she was on the bed, raising his hand he placed it on her throat which earned a cry of pain from the girl with a jolt of her body. “Didn’t hurt though, right?” Although it seemed harsh in reality he was touching the neck to get a feel for how swollen it was, it was clearly effecting her voice as she spoke and the colour was worrying as it signified potential internal damage. Jotting down a few notes he knew what they would do with that, they had something that would be fantastic and take away the pain making it more comfortable.

“N-No.” Sniffing as she felt the pain pulsate through her neck after it had been prodded without her consent. Though her eyes darted to the door when she heard a knock on it and she couldn’t help but frown, was this the executioner coming to kill her? Maybe she was about to be moved back to the prison where she could wait out for whatever punishment was about to happen. It was hard not to panic, especially when she was amidst enemies. Was that how Caspain felt? Did he go through all these feelings like she was experiencing now, at least she had been admitted into a hospital unlike him. She couldn’t get him to one of those, there was no luxury like that in the districts and it just showed just how little she had really done to help him. All she had done was cause him problems from the moment they met, she couldn’t love him. It would be unfair after everything she had caused.

The Doctor had meanwhile moved to the door opening it up to see Jacob on the other side, smiling at the sight he opened up the door further before moving outside himself and shutting the door behind him with a gentle click so the girl wouldn’t be able to hear what he was about to say. “Welcome Jacob, you are just in time. I was about to run through some bits with Iris and that neck. Firstly though. I think I can explain a little bit about what happened.”

Pulling up his clipboard he cleared his throat before looking back at the guard who had come to check on the prisoner, although the drug was top secret the doctors in this facility knew about them as there had been complications before. Of course they had to sign a waiver form to declare they would never speak about it, “That drug was in her system for far too long, that should be relayed back and we have warned them of that before. On top of that she should never have been given that drug, had she not been suffering with amnesia it wouldn’t have been so bad. Amnesia blocks the memories; she knows the answers deep down, but it’s blocked. The drug was designed to push out the answers which are there and spill it so of course the information was there, but the amnesia blocked it so to speak so it was a constant battle sending her body into overdrive. I think that’s what caused the seizure, of course there is no way to be sure without a family medical history which is something we don’t have access too.”

Tapping his finger against the clipboard he shook his head, “So with that constant battle and the fact the drug was in her for far too long it spelled trouble. It could have killed her. The girl also has a severe lack of nutrients in her system, dehydrated and lack of food caused an irritation to the stomach hence the blood when she vomited. The only thing I don’t have an explanation for is the neck, I’m assuming that was an injury before she came here unless interrogations have become quite rough.” Making a little joke about the matter trying to ease up the mood. “I’m just going to treat that up now, but I recommend she stay here for at least a day or two to monitor it as we suspect it could happen again if put under too much pressure. Of course, it’s just a recommendation, it’s entirely up to you seeing as she is a prisoner.”

Opening the door again he was done with relaying the information over, moving back inside he placed his clipboard down and went to get some supplies to help with the neck wound inviting Jacob to enter if he so wished.

[Rogue Sloth]

As he waited for someone to answer the door, Jacob quickly checked his phone for messages. He’d left the security at the palace in the capable hands of one of the other guards whom he trusted, but he needed to remain available in case the team needed anything from him while he was gone. The chances of another attempt on the royal family were low, but Atlas sometimes went into a fit that required multiple people to extinguish. The guards at the palace were there to make sure he didn’t accidentally hurt himself in addition to keeping out outside threats. Given his recent spat with Prince Caspian, it was unnervingly likely that the king would wake up in a foul mood that morning.

Fortunately, his lock screen was empty though, and he looked up again as a doctor appeared on the other side of the door. He shifted his weight to step into the room but then paused as the other man came into the hallway instead. Apparently he either didn’t want him to go inside or he had something he wanted to discuss away from his patient. The guard leaned one shoulder against the nearby white wall and folded his arms loosely over his chest. “Do tell,” he prompted when the doctor said he could explain what had happened to Iris. Having never seen a prisoner go into a seizure in response to the Aproveset injection, he was interested in finding out what had gone wrong.

So, listening patiently, he found it intriguing that her amnesia was most likely the cause of her strange reaction. There was no way he or anyone else could have known it would be dangerous for her to undergo an interrogation with the drug, but now that he’d learned about the adverse effect, he made a mental note to pass word on to the soldiers at the penitentiary. It sounded like they were done questioning her, but just in case, it would be good for them to know that she couldn’t handle another round of the truth serum. Given that her fate was in limbo, he needed to make sure the idiots didn’t accidentally kill her when Caspian wanted her freed and Atlas had been considering sending her back to her home district.

“If that’s what you think is best, then keep her as long as you need to,” Jacob told the doctor decisively. He had a feeling the hospital was a safer place for the girl than the penitentiary anyway. Some of the soldiers there seemed to hold a grudge against her for being involved in the prince’s abduction, while the others were just too inept to handle a prisoner that they assumed was going to be executed any day now. He was a busy man, so he couldn’t spring to her rescue every time the dumbasses screwed up. If keeping her at the medical center for a couple more days would buy her time while the royal family discussed what to do with her, then he was sure the bills would be worth it. The money for her in-treatment was covered by the prison’s funds anyway.

Having made his decision quickly, he followed the doctor back into the room and took a seat in the guest chair by the door, watching quietly as the physician prepared to tend to her bruised throat.

Meanwhile, Cas didn’t have to wait long before a nurse arrived with his breakfast. Somewhat ironically, it was the same blonde nurse he’d teased Jacob about. She stepped inside with a platter that contained a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of orange juice and set it down on his bedside table. “Good morning, Your Highness,” she greeted him as she adjusted his mattress into a more upright position that would make it easier to eat and drink. “Are you ready to go home today?”

That’s a surprisingly loaded question, he thought. He was eager to get out of the hospital, but he was apprehensive about facing his father at home. However, he didn’t want to unload his personal problems on a total stranger, so he replied simply, “Yeah, it’ll be good to sleep in my own bed again.”

“Understandable,” she nodded in agreement. Once she felt like he was in a comfortable position to have his meal, she stepped back from the bed and nodded her head in a casual bow. “Before you go, the doctor will need to put a sturdier cast on your wrist. But once he finishes that, I believe you’ll be free to be discharged whenever you’re ready to leave.”

“Great,” he sighed, picking up his spoon. “I also can’t wait to have solid food again.”

The nurse smirked amusedly, “Give it until the afternoon, Your Highness. The medications you’re on may cause your stomach to be tender for a few hours even after the IV is removed.”

“Fine, but after that, I’m going ham,” he compromised, bringing a mouthful of oatmeal to his lips.

The nurse chuckled and bowed again, stepping out of the room to let him eat in peace. Once he was alone, Cas found his thoughts wandering back to Iris again. He hoped she was doing okay at the penitentiary and was worried about what the soldiers might have been doing to her since she’d been arrested. At least now that he was almost free from the hospital, he could go to see her soon. After he found a change of clothes at home, he planned to go to the prison for a visit right away. With any luck, I’ll be able to get her out of there today, he thought determinedly.

[sukikyoufu]

“Right, let’s get that neck bandaged.” The Doctor spoke as he pulled out some special bandages they had developed, they had a cooling agent inside which would bring down the swelling and ease the pain. Keeping these on for a few days would take away the discomfort and heal her up from the bruises at the same time. Though he paused for a second watching her, the girl had tensed in the bed and he realised what that could be because. Glancing back at Jacob who had taken a seat in the guest chair whilst he waited, he figured his presence probably made her tense. It was understandable of course, if he was in her shoes, he would feel the same.

It was hard not to be frightened when Jacob had walked into the room, he was a guard the one who had been close to Caspain keeping the Royal family safe. Maybe he is here to take me back, maybe I’ll be facing punishment today? Or… more… interrogation. The thought sent shivers down her spine as her heartbeat quickened the monitor mirroring how she felt inside. Fearful of what was to happen next because she had never experienced such pain before, whatever they had done was excruciating and she could still feel the pain. Though it wasn’t real she still felt like it was there hurting her, it was like it had left an imprint on her. Caught in a daze she freaked out when she realised the Doctor had come closer and without think she batted his hands away a look of panic across her face.

“Hey, woah. It’s okay. It’s just me, see these bandages in my hands, they will help. They will soothe that neck injury, make it easy to maybe think of eating something?” The Doctor was incredibly professional throughout, it seemed as if he wasn’t phased by her freak out and hit. In all honesty it was a common experience, though most prisoners were usually cuffed to the bed and she hadn’t been. The door had been locked in case, but they deemed it highly unlikely she would be able to escape, proof of that was this morning when he had caught her from the bed not being able to stand.

“Right, you need to stay still. Calm down, your making your poor heart work overtime.” Smiling as he nodded to the machine monitoring her heart rate trying to ease the tension and help her relax. It wasn’t helping though, but he had tried. Tilting her head upwards he heard the whimper but instructed her to look at the ceiling as he started to wrap the bandages around her neck firmly. It wasn’t too tight because he didn’t want to strangle her, she’d experienced enough of that clearly because those marks and the swelling looked like intent to kill.

Iris couldn’t help but squirm, whimpering with the pressure even though she could feel the cold cloth instantly soothing her neck. Trembling as she felt the bandage wrap round firmly and she found her hands had begun to grip at the bedsheets tightly, knuckles turning white because it was still incredibly sore.

“There we are.” The Doctor stepped back before looking over Jacob, “I’ll leave security in your hands, if she is to be here for a few days I assume you will arrange appropriate measures. It won’t be too long until she gets the strength to move.” Nodding to Jacob as he picked up the clipboard writing the last few notes on it, “Now you, should rest. I see those dark circles. Take advantage of sleeping here whilst you can. I’ll be back to check in on you in a little bit okay?”

[Rogue Sloth]

As he watched Iris, Jacob noticed the way she was staring back at him like she’d seen a ghost. Her skin looked pale and the vital signs monitor beside her bed had grown louder and more urgent with the spike in her heartrate. He could tell she was bothered by him, but he didn’t move from his seat. Rather, he made himself comfortable, propping his elbow on the armrest and resting his chin on top of his fist. He wasn’t here for her sake, so he didn’t care if she was happy to see him or unnerved by his presence. Though she wasn’t aware of it, he was staying to make sure Matthew didn’t try to move her while no one was around to stop him. He was still frustrated with the interrogator for blatantly disregarding his orders and didn’t trust him to behave after just one warning. Until he was able to go to Atlas, himself, he’d decided to be a human barrier between the penitentiary workers and their prisoner.

While he observed, he narrowed his eyes ever so slightly as Iris fought back against the doctor. He had half a mind to tell her to sit still and let the man do his job, but the physician took care of it without his intervention. He stayed quiet while the doctor bandaged her bruised throat, wondering to himself about her relationship with Caspian. He didn’t know her very well at all, having only seen her once before when she had been in the prince’s company in the historic district, so all he really knew about her was that she was part of the rebellion. Well, that, and that she was supposedly in love with the crown’s heir.

Naturally distrusting, he was hesitant to believe that a woman from outside the capital had genuine feelings for the prince, but unlike his king, he kept his skepticism to himself. He preferred to study and observe rather than jump to any conclusions without proof. So, for now, he just followed his orders to guard her without using lethal force and silently worked on determining if she was really just a girl who was infatuated with Caspian or someone whom he should deem a threat to the monarchy.

When the doctor finished his work and addressed him, Jacob nodded wordlessly, pulling his phone from his pocket to do just that. He’d committed to bringing the prince back to the palace soon, so he would need to find someone to replace him as her guard in his absence. Already having the perfect candidate in mind for the job, he sent a text to one of the other members of the security team. The rest of the men weren’t quite as high ranking as himself, since he was the head of security, but their voices still carried enough weight that the hospital staff would be reluctant to go against their wishes if Matthew tried to pull anything while he was gone.

With that done, he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, stretching out his legs in front of him to wait for a reply. To his surprise, the device pinged with an incoming message scarcely a minute later. He glanced down at it to see that the guard had responded:

I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.

Reliable as always, he mused with a faint smile, pocketing the cell phone again and reclining comfortably in his seat. Not one to make small talk with prisoners, he didn’t feel the need to break the silence between himself and Iris as he waited for his replacement to get to the hospital so he could return to Caspian.

[sukikyoufu]

At first it felt strange having the bandages around her neck, it felt constricting, but the cold soothing sensation was already helping. A part of her wanted to just sleep whatever nightmare she was experiencing off, perhaps this was all some majorly detailed dream and she would wake back up in her hovel of a home with her alcoholic father passed out on the coach expecting her to find food and money for the day. Though she flinched at the thought of her father, he was now dead. There hadn’t been time to grieve for him, not with the interrogations and in all honesty, she wished she could black out the photos Matthew had showed her of his dead body. It had been ingrained into her mind, reminding her that these people were technically her enemy. They would never accept someone like her, not when she would easily judged by her past actions and heritage.

It felt awkward at first to her, the silence between them just as he sat in the chair waiting, he had to be here for a reason. Most probably to make sure she didn’t run, not that she even had the energy to be making anymore escapes. Though what about night-time? Would someone still be watching then? Surely these guards took breaks and would leave a window for her to escape? Though as much as she thought on ways to escape, they were all impossible, there was no way she was getting out of here without being spotted.

Glancing back over at Jacob in the chair she opened her mouth to speak but closed it fairly quickly, hesitating to ask him the burning question she had. Focusing her eyes on her hands she began to fiddle with the fabric on the bedding as if it would give her something to do, it reminded her of when she had first been here. How bored she had been but excited every time Caspain had come to visit her. The idea of him walking through the door was a longshot, a dream that would never become reality because she knew he had so many other things to be sorting out. For one talking with his father, cringing wondering how that had gone because she had caught a few snippets of how he was feeling when it came to him. It would surely be known by now that the heir of Aspiria was alive and well so his friends would want to know how he was, those same friends he had mentioned before. That was of course if he had survived, if she had got him back on time and she knew even though no one had told her about it she felt like he was fine.

The question still burned away and mustering up the courage a whisper left her lips loud enough for Jacob to hear, “How is he?” There was no need to say Caspains name, this guard wasn’t stupid, and he would know who she was referring too especially as he had been there at the tower. It was lucky in a way, what would have happened had he not been at the tower? Would the other guards have shot them? Would they have recognised the Prince? All thoughts aside there had been someone who had recognised him, but she needed to know he was okay have it confirmed. That’s if… he will even tell me. Thinking to herself as the thought of the guard just staying silent worried her, she knew it would be asking too much to send the Prince a message but knowing he was okay would be enough for her.

Ever since returning to the Capital the guilt had become progressively worse as the weight of what her choice, she had made began to crush her. It was similar to when she was at Maisies, how she couldn’t forgive herself, she personally couldn’t let it go. The fact she had been a part of the plan to kidnap him in the first place. I’ll pay for it though, I guess that’s something. Though I will never forgive myself for it.

[Rogue Sloth]

For a while, the room was enveloped in silence that Jacob appreciated. His mind wandered to all the other things he needed to be doing while he was sitting in the hospital with a woman who was supposed to be his prisoner. He had always been something of a workaholic, putting his profession in front of every other part of his life, and even when he was resting, he was thinking about tasks that needed to be done. It had been several years since he’d even taken a day off, but he preferred it that way. Being successful was the key to his contentedness in life, so he wouldn’t have traded his overtime for all the vacation or money in the world.

Even now, though he wasn’t actively doing anything, he was on the job. By passively watching Iris, he was preserving his authority over her as his responsibility. Everything he did had a purpose, which was why he had achieved so much even though he was still in his early thirties. There was no one else on the security team who could match his drive, and he prided himself on being the hardest working man on the force. So, sitting quietly with no one else but the rebel girl for company, he ruminated on the palace, the penitentiary, and even the fires he would have to put out as word got around that the prince had returned alive.

Focused on his meditative planning, he didn’t look up until Iris’s quiet voice caught his attention. At her question, he frowned. She sounded genuinely concerned about how Caspian was doing, but one inquiry wasn’t enough to convince him that her feelings were real. “He’s fine,” he responded curtly, keeping an invisible distance from her. However, as he reflected on the situation a bit more, he admitted to himself that there wasn’t much of a reason to be secretive. Everyone in Aspiria was soon going to find out that the prince was recovering, so it didn’t matter if one woman was a little ahead of the curve.

With a sigh, he added, “All of his major wounds were treated yesterday, so he’s going back to the palace today to finish recovering at home.” Deciding that was enough information, he dropped his gaze back to the screen of his phone in wait for his replacement to arrive.

Two floors up, Caspian had finished his breakfast and was getting restless as he waited for the doctor to get back to replace his splint with a cast. About five minutes went by before there was a knock on the door, and the man stepped in with the silicon material in one hand and an empty wheelchair that he was pushing with the other. “How are you feeling, Your Highness?” he asked as he stepped over to the sink to sanitize his hands.

“Really good,” he replied honestly. “I haven’t felt much pain at all today.”

“Very good,” the doctor nodded sagely. “That will change once we take you off the IV, but I prescribed an oral form of the same medicines that you ought to continue taking every twelve hours for the next three days. They’ll help manage the discomfort and they’ll lessen the chances that all of those open wounds will scar.”

Cas glanced down at the bandages around his arm, “So they’ll all heal up completely?”

“The minor ones should, yes,” the physician replied as he dried his hands and stepped over to the bed. “The laceration in your arm and the gunshot in your leg will most likely need cosmetic surgery to remove the scarring later on though.”

“Huh,” Cas grunted contemplatively and then shook his head. “That’s fine. I don’t need it.”

“Are you sure, Your Highness?” the doctor raised his brows. “It’s a standard procedure for someone of your status.”

“It’s okay,” he insisted, absentmindedly touching the bandages around his leg. “What I went through was hard, but I don’t ever want to forget it. That means not covering up the evidence that it happened. I’ll just keep whatever scars I get from these injuries.”

The doctor studied him with interest and then bowed. “If that’s what you want, Your Highness.” As he spoke, Cas could see a hint of a smile on his lips.

The IV was removed from his hand, and the prince turned on the bed so his legs hung over the edge while the doctor fixed the new cast on his wrist. In times past, plaster was used to set broken bones, but Aspirian scientists had come up with a more lightweight version created with silicon. The clear material wasn’t as thick or heavy, so it was easily hidden underneath clothes and less inconvenient to wear. The physician had Cas test it to make sure it wouldn’t slide around on his arm and then gave his approval that he was free to go.

For a moment, the prince got his hopes up that his release meant that his father had forgotten about forcing him to meet with a psychiatrist—or even that the king had changed his mind altogether—but his good mood was dampened when the doctor added one more thing before he left him alone to change out of his hospital gown. “By the way,” he said, stopping in the doorway. “Dr. Foster was unable to see you today, so she’ll be making a house call at the palace tomorrow sometime before noon.”

“Oh,” he frowned, his shoulders falling slightly at the news. As the doctor stepped out and closed the door behind him, Cas sighed and pulled off his gown, tossing it in a bin at the edge of the room and putting on a pair of white, elastic-waisted shorts and a matching t-shirt that a nurse had brought by for him to wear after he was discharged. There was also a pair of generic sandals to go with the ensemble.

It was somewhat difficult for him to dress himself when he only had one good hand and leg, but he managed to do it without asking for help. Once he was decent, he knocked once on the door and sat down in the wheelchair as the doctor stepped back in to bring him down to reception. He felt like he could have walked there by himself, but it was standard procedure for patients to sit in a wheelchair when they were leaving the hospital, so he let the other man roll him to the elevator and down to the exit, where they waited for Jacob, who was supposed to be the one to drive him home.

[sukikyoufu]

At the curt response at first Iris flinched, she didn’t expect anything warm of course but just at the word of he was fine didn’t sit right. She wanted to know more, she needed to know that he was okay and everything was fine, that his wounds had been healed with nothing major happening like his leg needing to be amputated or his arm for that matter seeing as she hadn’t done the most amazing of jobs with treating it. Iris was no doctor, but she tried to keep it clean and kept away from any dirt and she had done her best, hopefully it was enough for him to make it through.

Though as he expanded, she felt relieved, sighing softly to herself knowing that his major wounds had been treated and he must have been well enough to go home to rest there. It was something that had been playing on her mind when time permitted her to think, when she knew that she was alone, and no one was around she often thought about how well he was doing. When pushing him back to the Capital he was so badly hurt that she worried she wouldn’t make it in time, that the injuries were too severe, and he would bleed out. Resting at home, I’m so glad. I feared he wouldn’t make it. Those injuries, but he did. He’s alive. Not bothering to ask anything more she knew that he didn’t want to talk, she didn’t fancy it either as all she wanted to know was that Caspian was fine.

Settling on the bed she wondered if he knew where she was, if he knew what had happened already. Remembering how he had promised he would fight for her did give her a little bit of comfort, but in all honesty, she had excepted her fate when she didn’t flee at the border. Treason was and always will be punishable by death. At least he knows, he understands the state of the districts. It was a small victory that even if she died, he understood, he would act on it and do something when he had power and she had to believe that. Believing in him and the King she knew he could become with just someone having a little confidence in him, perhaps his friends maybe?

Closing her eyes, she thought maybe it would be best to try and get some rest, even whilst her fate was in a limbo, she could try to get some sleep which would help aid in her own recovery. The sickly feeling had never left, her stomach was uncomfortable, but she was only just noticing it now as the pain from her neck was ebbing away with each passing minute. With her eyes closed there was silence once more giving her time to think about Caspain and how she wished she felt confident to ask Jacob to pass on a message, but the instant she thought it she knew it was bad. Though as she thought about Caspain some more she knew how he had been feeling about his father, a part of her thinking on if their reunion had been a good one. Probably not, if he finds out about this… I don’t think it will help.

“Don’t tell him about this. About what happened.” Not even bothering to look over at Jacob as she spoke one last thing, she didn’t want Caspain to know what had happened in the prison. What had happened with the interrogation because she didn’t want it affecting his relationship with his father. Of course, she knew Atlas wanted her dead, but she also knew Cas wanted to see that love from him especially after he thought his father had abandoned him out in the districts. Whatever happened in the prison was insignificant if she was going to die anyway, why put a strain on an already rocky relationship.